Forest scholars worldwide team up to show that biodiversity is green in more ways than one

Loss of biodiversity has long been recognized as detrimental for nature, for nature's sake. Now a team of scholars from 90 institutions in 44 countries show that it also provides enormous economic benefits. The team, formally known as the Global Forest Biodiversity Initiative (GFBI), consolidated field-based forest inventory data from 777,126 permanent plots across the world, and discovered that for forests in every part of the world, those with many tree species are more productive than nearby forests with few.

The team then estimated that the economic value of biodiversity in maintaining commercial forest productivity alone is worth USD$166-490 billion per year. This benefit- only one of many such benefits of biodiversity- is more than 20 times greater that what is spent each year on global conservation. This finding highlights the need for a worldwide re-assessment of biodiversity values, forest management strategies, and conservation priorities.

The research, published in the Oct. 14, 2016 issue of Science, marks the first major accomplishment of the GFBI team. The study, and the GFBI team, was led by Jingjing Liang from West Virginia University; Peter B. Reich, from the University of Minnesota, and Thomas W. Crowther, at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology.

Reich is also engaged in presenting these new scientific findings to the public in new ways. Reich is part of the team that produces the YouTube science education channel, MinuteEarth, which released a two-minute video on the value of biodiversity to help explain the paper to the public. Given its more than 1.3 million subscribers, MinuteEarth will extend the reach of the forest scientists beyond the science and policy arena into a great many kitchens and living rooms across the US and internationally.

-end-

University of Minnesota

Related Biodiversity Articles:

Biodiversity is 3-DThe species-area relationship (SAC) is a long-time considered pattern in ecology and is discussed in most of academic Ecology books.

Poor outlook for biodiversity in AntarcticaThe popular view that Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are in a much better environmental shape than the rest of the world has been brought into question in a study publishing on March 28 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, by an international team lead by Steven L.

Best Science Podcasts 2019

AnthropomorphicDo animals grieve? Do they have language or consciousness? For a long time, scientists resisted the urge to look for human qualities in animals. This hour, TED speakers explore how that is changing. Guests include biological anthropologist Barbara King, dolphin researcher Denise Herzing, primatologist Frans de Waal, and ecologist Carl Safina.

#534 Bacteria are Coming for Your OJWhat makes breakfast, breakfast? Well, according to every movie and TV show we've ever seen, a big glass of orange juice is basically required. But our morning grapefruit might be in danger. Why? Citrus greening, a bacteria carried by a bug, has infected 90% of the citrus groves in Florida. It's coming for your OJ. We'll talk with University of Maryland plant virologist Anne Simon about ways to stop the citrus killer, and with science writer and journalist Maryn McKenna about why throwing antibiotics at the problem is probably not the solution. Related links: A Review of the Citrus Greening...